HomeVideosOverview of Nova: Making Stuff with David Pogue, exploring materials science breakthroughs

Overview of Nova: Making Stuff with David Pogue, exploring materials science breakthroughs

January 11, 2011

Nova: Making Stuff on PBS | Invisibility cloaks. Spider silk that is stronger than steel. Plastics made of sugar that dissolve in landfills. Self-healing military vehicles. Smart pills and micro-robots that zap diseases. Clothes that monitor your mood. What will the future bring, and what will it be made of? In Nova’s four-hour series, “Making Stuff: Stronger, Smaller, Cleaner, Smarter,” popular New York Times technology reporter David Pogue takes viewers on a fun-filled tour of the material world we live in, and the one that may lie ahead. Get a behind-the-scenes look at scientific innovations ushering in a new generation of materials that are stronger, smaller, cleaner, and smarter than anything we’ve ever seen.

From the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age to more recent periods dominated by plastics and silicon, materials have defined the progression of humankind. Now, we are once again poised on the verge of a materials revolution, as researchers around the globe push the boundaries further than ever before, using biology and chemistry to imbue materials with new qualities that are expanding our technological frontiers.

“Few people realize it, but materials are the basis of our civilization — the Stone Age, the Iron Age — and materials are what will take us into the future,” says Paula S. Apsell, Nova Senior Executive Producer. “David Pogue is a highly entertaining and tech-savvy guide during a fascinating four hours full of potential breakthroughs that will shape our future.” To download the press release with more detailed descriptions of each program as well as photos, visit our press site.